If the motherboard is changed

[b11_]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

 

[Alias]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

If it's the exact same model motherboard, yes it will boot up and
nothing needs to be done. If it's a different model, you'll have to do a
repair install.

Alias

 

[PD43]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

Maybe, maybe not. It is usually necessary to do a repair install to
get things running.

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

Changing the motherboard CHANGES THE BIOS automatically. The BIOS
comes with the motherboard.

 

[Bob I]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

Maybe, depends on if the motherboard replacement has the same
components, chiefly the drive controller is the biggest gotcha.

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

What would you change the BIOS to?

 

[John]

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

BIOS resides on a chip installed on the motherboard. Where else can it be?

 

[Kris]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

If it's similar - as in Nvidia chipset to Nvidia chipset, or P35 to P35, it
may well boot, at which point you would have to install the chipset drivers
for the new mobo. --> It does help if , before you cxhange the mobo, you
UNinstall the chipset drivers for the outgoing mobo. This increases,
slightly, the liklihood that the new one will boot.

If it doesn't boot, try a repair install (not talking about "recovery"
console"!!!), but have your data backed up (I use Acronis trueimage 11 to
image eqach partition to another spindle or to DVD), because if the repair
install doesn't work (locks up), you will have to do a full install. In
all liklihood you will also have to do the quick re-activation/validation,
though this depends on the degree of change and your change history. Even
by phone, it is really quick as they now have an automated option for "was
your mobo bad?" (say yes). Bless MS - I went through 3 bad mobos and it
was easy. I also don't activate until I've proved out the new mobo a bit!

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

The bios parameters and setup are in the little CMOS chip which is part of
a mobo, so, when you first turn on the new mobo, before you try to boot it
to the opsys, you would need to go into BIOS setup and set the date, time,
and parameters. Before actually installing a new mobo, I usually use the
mobo jumper to clear the CMOS to eliminate any stray wierdness that might
be present. Expect the first boot to take longer (minute or 2)as XP
immediately recognized that things are different and does it's thing.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

If the new one is identical (or nearly so) to the old one, yes.
Otherwise, very likely not.

At the very least you almost always need to do a repair installation.

That usually works, but occasionally it's not sufficient, and a clean
reinstallation is required. So be prepared for that possibility with
up-to-date backups, software media for reinstallation, etc.

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

?? I don't understand that question. The BIOS resides on, and is part
of, the motherboard. If you change the motherboard, the BIOS
necessarily gets changed with it. You don't have an option to change
it or not.

 

[b11_]

The motherboard would be different.

What is a repair installation?

If the harddrive is wiped clean _BEFORE_ changing the motherboard, then the
motherboard is installed, then Wxp is installed, then would Wxp _positively_
boot?

______________________________________________________________

 

[PD43]

What is a repair installation?

Hoo boy!

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

If the harddrive is wiped clean _BEFORE_ changing the motherboard, then the
motherboard is installed, then Wxp is installed, then would Wxp _positively_
boot?

Nothing is "positively" sure... but the chances that it would are
great.

That said... ALL of your programs that you currently have installed
will be lost.

Do you want to lose them?

 

[b11_]

The Wxp I have is an OEM version, not the retail version.

How does one prove-out a new motherboard?
___________________________________________________________

 

[PD43]

The Wxp I have is an OEM version, not the retail version.

You can't do a repair install. You might not be able to do anything
else either.

 

[b11_]

Have the OEM, not the retail version of Wxp so I do not have the console.
_______________________________________________________________

 

[Bob I]

Where did the OEM come from? HP, DELL, or generic? If the former two,
you can contact them for resolution, if the later, reload from scratch
will take care of any issues.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

The motherboard would be different.

What is a repair installation?

It's essentially a reloading of Windows files. I don't like the term
myself, since I think it confuses people. I wish Microsoft had just
called it a "repair."

If the harddrive is wiped clean _BEFORE_ changing the motherboard, then the
motherboard is installed, then Wxp is installed, then would Wxp _positively_
boot?

No need to wipe the drive before changing the motherboard. You simply
need to do a clean installation of Windows. When you do that and
follow the prompts correctly, it begins by formatting ("wiping clean")
the drive. You can find detailed instructions here:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


You ask "would Wxp _positively_ boot?" stressing the word
"positively." I'm almost never willing to say that something is
"positively" going to happen, especially when it comes to computers.
There are *always* things that can wrong.

That said, there's no reason to expect that a motherboard change (if
done properly) followed by a clean installation would cause a problem.

But I had understood from your previous message, that you didn't want
to reinstall Windows, but keep all the data and installed programs on
the drive. Is that not correct?

 

[Lil' Dave]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

Topics of many past posts...

Going the same route as last M.O. minimal provided information in
98generaldiscussion newsgroup, eh? Standby for I told you so to this
newsgroup.

 

[b11_]

I do want to keep the apps and data but the motherboard is going to be
different so I am considering the worst possible situation which, I think,
would require a re-install of Wxp; but now I am confused because I got the
impression that if the motherboard is changed for a very different
motherboard then Wxp will _NEVER_ boot even if a fresh install is done.

The Wxp, that came with the computer, was "activated" before I bought the
computer. The Wxp that came with the computer is an OEM version, not a retail
version.
_________________________________________________________________

 

[DL]

It depends what type of OEM version you have, or more simply who the
origonal supplier was.
Some OEM cd's are locked to the origonal hardware, and if so unless you
purchase a new motherboard from the origonal supplier it wont install or run

I do want to keep the apps and data but the motherboard is going to be
different so I am considering the worst possible situation which, I think,
would require a re-install of Wxp; but now I am confused because I got the
impression that if the motherboard is changed for a very different
motherboard then Wxp will _NEVER_ boot even if a fresh install is done.

The Wxp, that came with the computer, was "activated" before I bought the
computer. The Wxp that came with the computer is an OEM version, not a
retail
version.
_________________________________________________________________

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

That cannot be true as far as XP as an operating system goes of course, but
it may be true of the XP cd that came with the computer. It may indeed
refuse to install because of technology used by the manufacturer. The
technology is called SLP. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Locked_Preinstallation.

This article may be of some help also:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457078.aspx

I do want to keep the apps and data but the motherboard is going to be
different so I am considering the worst possible situation which, I think,
would require a re-install of Wxp; but now I am confused because I got the
impression that if the motherboard is changed for a very different
motherboard then Wxp will _NEVER_ boot even if a fresh install is done.

The Wxp, that came with the computer, was "activated" before I bought the
computer. The Wxp that came with the computer is an OEM version, not a
retail
version.
_________________________________________________________________

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I do want to keep the apps and data but the motherboard is going to be
different so I am considering the worst possible situation which, I think,
would require a re-install of Wxp; but now I am confused because I got the
impression that if the motherboard is changed for a very different
motherboard then Wxp will _NEVER_ boot even if a fresh install is done.

No, that's not at all correct. Let me restate it:

1. Unless the new motherboard is identical to the old one, you will
have to do at least a repair installation.

2. That usually works, but occasionally it's not sufficient, and a
clean reinstallation is required. That's worst case, but barring
something terrible going wrong, will always work.

Most of the time, by far, step 1 is sufficient. I just waned to alert
you of the possibility of needing step 2, so you are prepared for it
if the worst happens. So be prepared for that possibility with
up-to-date backups, software media for reinstallation, etc. You
*probably won't need them, but better to be prepared than sorry.

The Wxp, that came with the computer, was "activated" before I bought the
computer. The Wxp that came with the computer is an OEM version, not a retail
version.
_________________________________________________________________

 

[Bruce Chambers]

If the motherboard is changed, will Wxp boot?

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific motherboard chipset and
therefore are *not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours
*before* starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical
(same chipset, same IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one
on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, you'll need to
perform a repair (a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.

If the motherboard is changed, must the BIOS be changed?

Since the BIOS is stored on a CMOS chip soldered to the motherboard, yes.


--

Bruce Chambers

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